Playing to Win: Cowboy Stories
by QuasiOuster
Summary: Daryl tries not to let the green-eyed monster ruin his family time, and this time, it's Michonne's turn to be oblivious. AU in the Playing to Win universe. Reading at least the first story in the series is recommended to better understand what's up with these characters.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: I do not own any part of The Walking Dead franchise, nor am I profiting in any way shape or form. I do claim all my dear original characters.**_

 _ **I had forgotten about this story. I think I put it aside because I didn't like the structure of it and thought it a little too similar to the other PTW story, although I meant it as a complement to that one. I wanted to fiddle with it some more. But the odds of that happening aren't that great these days so I figured I might as well throw it out there.**_ _ **I do really enjoy this universe and the cameos from my other stories.**_

 _ **It definitely helps to read the original story to understand what in the world is going on here. The other stories in the series help with context too, especially the post-script, but they aren't necessary to get the gist of things. There were some problems with my spell checker, and I tried to clean it up as best I could, so I apologize for the stray typos and such. I hope you get as much of a kick out of these guys as I do.**_

* * *

 **Chapter One**

Daryl dropped the box in the corner and looked around at the people slowly flowing in dressed in button-down shirts, slacks, blazers, and fancy shoes. If he hadn't known better, he'd have thought he was in some kind of weird, stuffy meeting full of douchebags who thought they knew it all. But he'd recognized a few of the people in the front of the room from Michonnne's job stuff so he knew they were mostly cool. As if on cue, Nina from her office waved and turned back to looking at whatever papers she'd picked up at the front of the room.

From how Michonne had explained it, this was some kind of refresher course for lawyers where they sat around and listened to lectures all day. To him, it sounded like just about the most boring way to spend a day. She seemed excited, though, and it had turned into a good excuse for a family trip. She'd even gotten their hotel paid for by agreeing to be an instructor for a few sessions.

So that's how he found himself hauling a box of stuff for her training into a cold hotel conference room on an early Friday morning.

Picking up on some familiar chatter, he walked towards the entrance in time to see Michonne stroll in with Sydney nestled in a sling across her body and Etta's toddling at her side, her tiny hand holding on to her mother's while turning to take everything in. She was so curious and he noticed she'd calmed down since the tantrum she had pulled an hour ago over Michonne leaving for her training. Michonne held the carrier in her other hand and he was glad she'd remembered to bring it down with all the chaos going on in their morning.

When he caught up with them, he ruffled Etta's hair and lightly pinched her cheek when she turned up to him. Her grin confirmed that she was indeed in a better mood. Whatever Michonne had promised her while they were getting ready and on the way down must have done the trick.

"I put your crap up there," he said to Michonne, pointing to the slightly raised stage. He saw another one of her co-workers wave at them and they both waved back.

"My crap?" Her raised eyebrow didn't give away whether she was annoyed at his comment or amused by it.

He held his hands up to stave off any flack for his comment. "Important educational paperwork."

"Right," she said, shaking her head. Adjusting Sydney against her, she finally flashed him a grin. "Thanks, Love." He rolled his eyes at the sappy endearment, but his cheeks warmed at the affection behind her words. "I think the little one should be nice and full and compliant for a while given how much she just nursed." She let go of Etta's hand and moved to unwrap her sling so she could pass the baby to him. "And the toddler-formerly-known-as-Miss-Grumpy has promised to be a good girl today."

Etta nodded earnestly as she curled up into him. He stroked the side of her head and gave her a mini-hug.

"I know you'll miss your Mama today, but me, you, and Syd, are gonne get into some fun, okay?"

"We can go to the playroom, Papa?"

"Yep, we gonna hit the playroom and then have your favorite lunch while you watch cartoons and then we'll take a nap."

Etta laughed "Even you too?"

"Especially me, Littl'un." Etta continued to giggle at his silly tone.

Michonne passed the baby over and tied him into the sling securely as she walked them out into the hallway to see them off. As Daryl adjusted the sling with her help, trying not to wake the baby, he caught her grinning too. "You're probably gonna nap harder than either of these two."

Daryl snorted. "Aint gon' lie, it's likely."

She smiled. "I think you have enough milk for the day but I'll come up at lunchtime to check."

"I still think I'm gettin' the better deal," he said. "You know I'm not trying to be cooped up in a room all day listing to people talk.

"What if they were talking about squirrel roasting? Or how to refurbish a motorcycle, or, I don't know, Gruff Customer Service 101."

"Or maybe dealing with smartass wives 101.

"Even if it's me doing the teaching?" she asked with a smirk.

He ran a hand down her back. "Depends on what you plan on sayin'." Kissing her on the cheek, he took his eldest daughter's hand, now the mirror image of when she'd first appeared a few minutes ago. "And who else was there with us. If I got me a private tutor and the right circumstances, I bet I wouldn't mind at all."

"Yeah, I bet," she said, trying to hide her laughter as people navigated around them to take their seats inside. She waved at Etta and stroked Sydney's cheek. "You guys have fun. I'll see you in a little while."

"Seeya, Mama." Etta squealed in delight over her wordplay. Daryl shook his head and mouthed a goodbye to her before heading down the hallway. Even as he took a few steps away from his wife, someone had come up to her with some question or point of conversation.

He strolled back down the hallway with his daughters for only a few feet before Etta started to lag behind. He feared she was maybe going to fall back into a mood with Michonne now gone but he saw that she was fidgeting with her foot.

"Papa, my shoe," she said finally, pointing at the loose Velcro. She shuffled a little more and stopped to try to maneuver the strap.

"Hold on, little lady." He spotted a bench a short ways away and led her to it. Carefully transferring the baby into the carrier before he sat, he motioned for her to do the same and had her prop her foot in his lap so he could fix the offending strap.

"What you wanna do first at the playroom, Etta?"

"Weeelll…" and then Etta began her running list of activities she had planned for the occasion. Daryl responded at all the appropriate moments during her explanation while he simultaneously wondered how she managed to get her show strap so twisted up. In the distance, he could still see Michonne at the door chatting up her colleagues. Her work environment may be worlds different from his, full of suits and rules and book learning; that didn't mean he wasn't impressed by how damn good she was at being a legal badass. He guessed a lot of the folks hadn't seen her since she'd had Sydney and they were excited to have her there. It made him feel proud of her.

Michonne wasn't exactly sporiting a suit this morning although she looked put together for sure. She was still self conscious about her baby weight, but he thought she always looked good—she was hot when she'd been at peak fitness, hitting her weights and doing yoga and whatever else she got into for exercise. She looked good 8 ½ months pregnant with his kid and about to burst; and she looked good now with a little bit of extra pounds on her that was melting off as she continued to nurse and the weeks since Syd's birth turned to months.

It was so different this time around from when they'd had Marietta, and he'd be disappointed when things changed from their happy little bubble. Not working, Michonne spent a lot of time with him at the shop so they were both able to see to the kids. Etta got to spend more time outdoors too. And damned if their presence hadn't calmed Merle down some, although he'd probably always be a wildcard. His brother had really taken to his "Cookie" and Syd too. And he liked playing the know-it-all when Andre was able to join them. Merle and Michonne got along on occasion as well instead of just no-so-quietly tolerating each other.

Even their sex was different now that they'd gotten the domestic thing down. It was still good for sure—what had changed from their early intensity was a safety and calm, something he hadn't thought would be so satisfying. She often liked for him to take the lead, surrendered to him more readily than he'd gotten used to. And judging by her reactions, he'd accommodated nicely.

For her training today, she'd chosen to wear jeans since it was an informal setting and they were pretty form-fitting as suited her figure. She wore a stylish blazer over her blouse—easy access for Syd but still hiding her "lumpiness" she'd said. He liked her curves just fine, but there was no telling a woman something like that when her mind got to set on being unsatisfied with her body. He kept his opinions about it to himself but he didn't mind the extra roundness to her breasts either. She looked pretty damn good for having had a baby a few months ago.

Speaking of enjoying his wife's body, Daryl paused in his fixing of Etta's shoe to stare at the attention her chest was getting from some dude that had just wandered up to her. He guesed she didn't know him because it looked like someone was introducing them. Daryl watched as the man made conversation and then immediately went back to checking out Michonne's rack when her focus moved elsewhere.

Daryl frowned. Before he could react any kind of way, someone came out of the room to usher them in and begin the session.

"Papa," Etta called out. He'd momentarily stopped responding to her in order to scrutinize the man ogling Michonne.

"Sorry, Etta." He re-latched her shoe and patted her leg. "All set, Little'un."

"Thank you," she said obediently and he rubbed her back as she hopped from the bench. She followed where his gaze had been fixed. "You want Mama to come play today too?" She had a sad lilt to her voice as if trying to muster her inner "big girl" for him.

"Sure do, but she gotta go work so she can play later like she told ya this morning." He figured explaining the pros and cons of being a jealous lover wasn't something he'd ever want to discuss with his kids at any age.

Etta sighed. As if repeating her personal mantra for the day she told him, "Mama's gonna play later and I get a "s'prise."

"Right." He glanced back at the closed door and stood, taking Etta's hand again. "First you gotta have some fun with me and your sister. That sound cool?"

"Yeah!" Etta said, pulling her dad along. "'Cept you gotta help Syd have fun 'cause she's too little to play."

"Will do, Boss." Daryl tucked away the scene he'd just witnessed and wondered if there'd be a good way to ask Michonne about it later. Probably not if he wanted to stay on her good side.

There didn't seem to be a point to worrying about it, so he focused instead on leading his daughters to the playroom and wearing at least one of them out before lunchtime.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Michonne stepped into the hotel room feeling a little tired yet also strangely energized. It'd been nice to ease back into work before her maternity leave was over. That she'd gotten to bring her family along for it was icing on the cake.

Unfortunately, a side effect of this morning's adventure was that she felt like she was about to burst. She needed to either nurse Syd in the next five minutes or pump before her next session. She hoped she wasn't too early to catch her brood. Etta's nap and lunchtime were soon, but if they'd gone to the playroom, she'd certainly push the envelope with Daryl—and he would be completely unable to resist her. She smiled thinking about how much their kids had her big, strong husband wrapped around their little fingers.

It was quiet when she walked into the main room of their family suite—the conference had paid for it, and it had turned out to be the perfect space for them, allowing Etta to have her play area but enough space where they could still talk and maneuver with Sydney while she slept. She waited a moment longer to listen for any signs that her family had returned; only more silence greeted her. Resigned to the fact that she'd be pumping, Michonne headed to the bedroom to prep her equipment.

She stopped short when she entered the room, nearly bursting out in laughter at the scene. The reason she hadn't heard anything was because both her daughters and her husband were knocked out—Sydney in her bassinet by the bed, Daryl right next to her on the edge and Etta sprawled horizontal across the rest of it. The cartoon channel was playing on mute.

At the foot of the bed on the floor were the remnants of a picnic—sandwiches crumbs and leftover fruit for Daryl and Etta it seemed and an empty bottle for Syd.

Michonne wondered how long ago they'd hunkered down. She would love to spend her lunch hour with her family but didn't want to disrupt their rest, especially for Daryl who had to wrestle with the girls for a little while longer during her afternoon session. Oh well.

She placed a soft kiss to Etta's forehead, not worried about waking her. The girl slept like a log, even when an infant. It probably helped her have so much energy during the day. Walking over to check the baby, she saw her stir a bit and start to squirm. Sydney hadn't inherited that particular trait so she tended to wake up at the slightest sound, although she was also great about going right back to sleep. Michonne picked her up to see if she'd nurse a little. Sydney opened her sleepy eyes and immediately nuzzled into Michonne's chest seeking food, which made Michonne laugh softly.

"Okay, I get it little squirrel. Hold your horses."

Michonne situated herself in the chair across the room and made herself ready to get her daughter some lunch and also relieve a little pressure for herself as well. As she maneuvered the two of them until they were both comfortable, she'd glance up to see if her movements had disturbed her husband and was happy to see him sleep right through Sydney's second lunch.

She'd been nursing Syd for maybe 10 minutes when her gaze lingered back to Daryl. He was sporting his usual worn, oversized cargo pants and button-down shirt, his favorite of both if she wasn't mistaken. In his position along the bed, she admired how the shirt stretched nicely across his broad chest. She loved lying against him there, feeling how solid he felt under and the intimacy of getting as close to him as she could. Although she still felt lumpy and uncomfortable with her body, not back to her usual lean physique, Daryl always kept fit just from going about his daily activities at the garage and around the house. He was completely oblivious to how enticing he could be, especially when he was deliciously tousled from working all day. And one of the sexiest things about him was when he reassured her that she was beautiful to him no matter what; she absolutely believed him because of his transparent love for her. It wasn't exactly _the_ sexiest thing, though. That would be maybe his eyes, maybe his ass; or that amazing imagination of his when it came to showing her a good time. Of course, it was probably all of the above.

The sound of movement on the bed caught her attention, and she looked over at Daryl's sudden alertness at noticing the baby's absence. When his wild eyes spotted them in the corner, he calmed down and stretched. Checking that Etta was still down for the count, he moved to the other chair next to hers and watched as she fed their daughter. Daryl was definitely one of those dads that loved watching them together, always with some measure of wonder.

"Greedy little thing, aint she? I fed her like an hour ago." He wiggled Sydney's little foot and she smiled around her continuous sucking.

"An hour in baby time is like half a day. I guess she figured she should get it while it's fresh," Michonne said. She reached over and brushed tousled hair from Daryl's groggy eyes. "How have they been?"

Daryl sighed and stretched his legs out in front of him. "Pretty good. Etta had a blast in the ball pit. Didn't even have to entertain her. She found a little buddy and they went to town there for a good hour."

"Sounds cute," Michonne said, wishing she'd been there to see it.

"I took some video. We can watch it later." Michonne smiled her thanks. "Sydney even stayed awake for a while to watch or somethin'. She was real good, not fussy at all. The little boy's mom that Etta got on with kept goin' on 'bout what a good baby she is. Made us look like rock star parents."

"Which we are, of course." They both smiled. "As long as she didn't try to woo you away, I'll accept the compliment."

Daryl gave her a strained look at that and she laughed. He was probably getting tired of her jokes about how appealing he was to other women, running around with some cute kids like theirs. Andre had spilled the beans about a few such incidents.

"How's your training?" he asked, sounding too casual to escape suspicion. She narrowed her eyes at him, surprised that he'd ask about a topic he'd already declared the most boring thing ever.

"It's okay. We had some interesting discussions and the other panelists are pretty good too. I know Jenny and Micah, but there's a guy from New York they brought in who had some new ideas. He's a bit of a cowboy but smart."

"You get to talking to him for a while or something?" Daryl asked.

She shrugged. "Not really. Just what came up on the panel and a little bit afterwards. He was interested in this thing my office has been working on, although I haven't been around for most of it so I don't know why he was quizzing me about it."

It had actually annoyed her a little, the man's constant questions. She'd tried to direct him to Micah after he'd gone on a third or fourth tangent about ideas she had no clue about. Just because she was happy to be using her lawyer-brain again didn't mean she had both feet back into that world yet. Besides, she'd wanted to catch up with her old colleagues, not listen to some hotshot from New York blather on about what an amazing attorney he thought he was.

At seeing her reaction to the question, Daryl looked like he wanted to ask something else but decided not to, probably regretting he'd asked a work question. He only hummed a reply and went back to focusing on her nursing.

After a moment of staring at her and Syd, he yawned and stretched again. "You eat?"

She stared down at Sydney who didn't look like she was going to let up anytime soon. "Not with Greedy Smurf here." She tickled the little girl's foot and watched her smile in response as she had with her daddy. Turning back to Daryl, she shrugged. "If I don't have time when she's finished, I'll just take my bagged lunch and eat it in the back. The other training I'm leading isn't until later in the afternoon.

Daryl nodded. The cartoons played out silently in the background, colors flashing in the dim room as Daryl had drawn the curtains. "Sounds like you're ready to get back to work."

She looked up wondering from where the question had come. Was he being critical, questioning her desire to be a working mother again? Was there relief from not having to deal with some of her caginess as she approached the end of her maternity leave and not having to be the sole breadwinner anymore?

He'd propped up his head on his hand and yawned again; Michonne calmed herself. He appeared to just be making conversation as he woke himself up.

"You know me too well," she said as she switched Sydney over to her other side. The baby was wide awake now and looking around. She groused a little bit at the interruption so she knew the little girl wasn't going to let her get in a quick burping. "It is nice to work that part of my brain again. Hopefully, that'll make it easier when I do get back to the office next month." Her last six weeks of leave would end up flying by just like these first few months. They could probably afford for her to take more time off with all the money they'd saved up for their postponed honeymoon to Australia. It was still a wait and see thing. As of right now, she was looking forward to getting back part-time, take part of the arraignment calendar maybe.

"'Fore I forget, I saw Andrea while we were walking back for lunch. Looks like she's gotten all baby crazy. I thought she was 'gon eat Syd alive and then run off with her and Etta the way she was actin'."

"I heard." Michonne said, smiling. "I don't think she's baby crazy. I think she didn't want to go to that training."

Daryl shrugged. "Whatever's up with her, I think she 'bout had Etta ready to drag her back to the ball pit with her. And if Etta hadn't been walkin' around with her stomach rumblin' for lunch time, I probably woulda let her."

"Any excuse to get out of doing her CLE's, although she and Etta are turning into little co-conspirators." Daryl nodded again and then got up to deliver an extra burp towel to her for the messy spillover Sydney'd gotten all over herself. "Anyway, I've loved having the time to spend with the kids."

Smirking, Daryl returned to his seat beside her. "Yeah, and what about me?"

She looked over at him. "You've been alright too." The warmth behind her words let him know that it was the understatement of the year. "I didn't get this much time with Andre or Etta so it still feels like a luxury, no matter how much I'm itching to get back to work."

"That fire at the shop messed everything up. He reached over to squeeze her knee and let her know that that rough patch in their marriage—the fighting over money and blame and their future with two kids and a new marriage—was water under the bridge. "Merle was good to step up this time so I could help out more and spend time with y'all."

"Yeah. He's dangerously close to me not being 100 percent annoyed with him all the time." Instead of being annoyed himself, Daryl laughed at her joke. He was so used to her and Merle's bickering by now.

As Sydney finished her lunch, Daryl tidied the room up so it was in better shape for Etta to tear it apart again. When she finally weaned the baby from her breast and placed her on her shoulder for a good burp, Daryl wandered back over and took her to do it himself. Michonne didn't argue with him about his needing to conserve energy; she simply stood and kissed him on the lips.

"You're so sweet," she said before dropping back into her chair and digging into her lunch bag.

"Damn right I am. Even Merle says so."

"Mmhmm." She frowned at her offerings. "Ugh, I was probably better off eating kid food with you guys. This pasta salad is looking suspicious. And this turkey wrap has seen better days."

Rubbing at Sydney's back, she heard his soft "there you go," at her giving him a good belch. "Help yourself," he said a little louder." Gotta ham sandwich and some yogurt left. Etta ate all the fruit and the PB&J."

Michonne got up and dug through the cooler to pull stuff out and immediately started inhaling the items.

"Damn girl, slow down," Daryl said as he rocked the now thoroughly satisfied infant.

She waved him off. "I'm nursing. I'm allowed."

"I'm 'a remember you said that when you're still wolfing down your food after the kids are grown and out the house." She threw a stuffed cow in his direction and went back to eating her lunch.

Daryl strolled around the room with Sydney while she continued to stuff her face with whatever leftover lunch and snacks she thought they could spare. When she finally came up for air, Daryl just grinned at her and whispered something she couldn't hear into the baby's ear.

"You better not be talking about me to our daughter. I won't have you two plotting against me over there." In fact, she loved how taken Daryl was with their girls at this stage, not that he was less affectionate with Etta now or Andre. Just that with the babies, he was such an unexpected goofball.

Whispering one last thing, Daryl walked over to her side and sat down. "Are you kiddin' me? All y'all girls gang up on me all the time, with your feminine wiles gettin' me to do whatever you want. That's what had my ass hauling boxes this morning when I coulda been layin' back and relaxin'.

"Ha," Michonne scoffed. "None of us were gonna get any downtime with Etta going on how she did this morning."

They both looked over towards the bed where the little girl was still sprawled and knocked out, mouth hanging slightly open as she breathed deeply.

Daryl passed the baby back to her when he noticed Sydney's eyes drowsing and her attention on her surroundings waning. Although Daryl grumbled about it, Michonne really was better at getting their youngest to sleep. It was probably a pheromones thing.

"How long 'fore you gotta get back?"

Michonne glanced at the bedside clock. "Hmm, I should get going soon and start my afternoon of fun."

"You love it," Daryl said teasing. "You still think you'll be done by 4:00? Everything's all set and Etta aint got no clue how much of a treat she's gettin'."

Laughing, Michonne rubbed Sydney's back, feeling the little girl's soft baby breaths on her neck. With both girls now sleep, maybe Daryl could have that downtime before Etta got back up and demanded his active attention.

"I can't wait. That's one more thing to dangle in front of her if she decides she wants to keep testing us."

"Well, aint no worse than any of us probably was at that age." He was such a softie, not liking anyone to talk bad about his kids, even her.

But she still rolled her eyes at him. "Speak for yourself. I was an angel." She stood to place Syd back in the bassinet, being careful not to upset her lest she wake up again.

When she straightened up, Daryl had moved up close behind her, putting his arms around her waist from behind. She leaned back into him and smiled as he kissed her on the shoulder. "'Course you were, babe."

Michonne turned in his arms and kissed him sweetly on the lips. Daryl leaned in hanging on as long as he could before she pulled back. But after Michonne released his mouth, she went back in for one more taste before stepping out of his embrace.

"Spoilsport." Daryl said to her as he finally released her."

"I'm doing you a favor. You need to save your energy if you want to keep up with these two. And yes, I should be done by four and then I can come join the fun."

Daryl cleaned up the last of their lunch as she gathered her things to return to her afternoon sessions. "It's you who needs to conserve. Might pass out from boredom from all that learnin' if I don't perk you up some."

"I'm certainly not gonna complain," Michonne said, stroking his arm as she passed him by to put her blazer back on.

Daryl walked her to the door. For being so rough around the edges, he certainly had his moments of being a genuine gentleman. "Gimme a heads up when you're almost done and the kids and I'll swing by. I'm sure Nina and Andrea and them other folks I saw gon' wanna fawn all over 'em. And the girls'll like that too."

"And that'll get you off the hook from having to do the small talk thing. I'm wise to your game, old man."

He shrugged, but only responded by grinning. "I can carry your crap back up here too."

"Deal." Michonne grabbed her bag and took one last look at the room behind her, her two girls asleep and safe, her husband looking adorable as he saw her off. She hated to leave.

Giving him another quick kiss, she opened the door and headed to the elevator before he could tempt her to play hooky for the rest of the day.

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Etta was about to drive Daryl to drink.

It's not that the little girl was being bad, it's just that she was antsy for both her mom and her surprise treat that came with it. They'd had a pretty good morning, and after her nap, they'd had a fun time watching cartoons together as she shook off the last of her heavy sleep. Then they'd hit the playroom again, but there were so many children there this time that it had overwhelmed her a bit. She'd stayed closer to him and Sydney and then grew more and more disgruntled as older and bigger kids took over the places she wanted to play.

Then the whining started. They had to get out of there quick to avoid a meltdown.

So they'd left the playroom to wander around the hotel. There were plenty of things for her to explore as he pushed Sydney in her stroller. That held her over for a while. But after one full loop, the little girl was getting bored again, especially when they had to stop so he could feed Sydney.

"Papa, is Mama done yeeeet?"

"Not yet, Etta. You bein' a big girl and waitin' for her so we just need you to wait a little bit longer and then we can get you your treat."

On cue, his phone buzzed with a text message. He read it over and sighed in relief. It was only about 3:45, but the first part of Etta's surprise was ready.

Putting Sydney back into her stroller, and making sure she wouldn't squawk at the change in scenery, Daryl grabbed Etta's hand. "Come on, Little'un. Got something I think you gonna like outside."

"Is it my s'prise?" she asked with a brightness in her voice he loved. Perking up, she squeezed his hand and tried to hurry him along.

Daryl laughed. Nothing like the promise of a reward to get his little girl acting right. "Hey slow down now. And yes, it's part of your surprise. Your mama's gon' see us in a minute, but she won't mind us startin' early."

At his side, Etta skipped and danced, regaling him with what she thought her surprise would be. But since she was becoming quite the little storyteller, her guesses weren't real ones but made-up options that she thought were hilarious.

"It's gonna be two horses and they're gonna have flowers in their hair and they'll be pulling up a whole cartful of toys and they'll be puppies and kittens riding in the carriage too." On and on she went until they'd finally made it to the lobby.

He could tell when Etta recognized part of her surprise because she dropped his hand and took off running. Usually, she was very obedient about keeping to him or Michonne in public, but for this occasion, he hadn't expected her to contain herself.

When she reached her destination, she hooked her little arms around her older brother Andre's leg and refused to let go.

"Andre! You came to see me!"

The boy rolled his eyes and looked put out but bent down to wrestle with his little sister as best he could.

Despite or maybe because of the years between them, Etta adored her older brother. She liked to follow him around and would demand that he play with her. She'd been like that since she was a baby. And as much as he liked to complain about it, Andre doted on the little girl too.

"Marietta, not so tight. I need that leg to walk." Etta let go of him and jumped up and down before latching on again. "A little help here," Andre said to Daryl, trying to hide his grin. He liked to call Etta a brat—and she was some of the time—but there was no doubt that he was as protective of his sister as him and Michonne.

Daryl rolled up with Sydney who was awake and staring at the scene with baby-interest. He grabbed Etta off her brother and held her to his side, letting the young boy peek into the stroller and tickle his other little sister until she giggled for him.

Eli Miller leaned over and shook Daryl's hand around the tangle of shuffling, squealing kids and general chaos. Daryl was glad to see Michonne's co-worker and their now mutual friend, not just because Etta had been about to drive him crazy, but also because he hadn't seen the man since before Syd had been born. Eli hadn't been able to come down for the training until today because of a case; being a family friend since when Michonne and her ex had been together, he'd agreed to pick Andre up and drive out to the conference so they could make a whole family outing out of the weekend.

"Hey man, you gonna be able to handle all these little folks on your own?" He looked close to laughter thinking about wrangling the brood—Andre and Etta were already playing some weird keep-away game, and Sydney looked like she had somehow gotten riled up too. Daryl sighed.

"Gon' have to. I'm gettin' used to it." He looked at the man as if to say he didn't have a choice, which he didn't. Things were going to be interesting when Michonne finally went back to work and either of them would be stuck running the gauntlet with the kids. "Michonne should be done soon too. Hopefully," he added, looking down at his watch and willing a sign from her of rescue.

"Don't worry, they never go past four o'clock. Everybody's gotta get ready for the dinner reception tonight, not to mention hitting the bar up beforehand.

"Yeah, I know how y'all roll. Still remember that hangover. Damn lawyers."

Eli laughed. "You know it! We work hard and we play hard, for sure." He checked his watch as well. "They should be wrapping up. Let's walk over with this gang and head them off at the pass."

As they made their way over, Eli caught him up on what he'd been getting into lately. The guy was a character and one of Michonne's friends that he'd taken to right away. Real down to earth and fun, not snobby like he thought most of her friends would be with him. Sydney tried to keep her focus on her siblings while Etta and Andre chatted in their kid-speak. Sure enough, on the way down to the meeting rooms, he received a text from Michonne that they were just about done and that she'd see him soon. He sent her a message that they were on their way with Andre.

The doors to the room were still closed so Daryl, Eli, and the kids sat outside and waited. Andre and Etta proceeded to chase each other around the bench they sat on, taking care not to run into anyone. Andre was being especially attentive about where he led his little sister. Even though he was essentially babysitting her at this point, he seemed to be having a pretty good time.

Thinking back to the last time he'd been by this room and what Michonne had reported, he thought he'd feed his curiosity a little bit.

"Hey, man, you heard of some dude from New York teaching here on the same panel as Michonne?"

Eli thought about it and then pulled something from the bag he had with him. Looking over a few papers, he nodded in recognition. "Yeah, I thought so. Dude named Scott Dennis. Been a trial lawyer a while with some big wins." Daryl hadn't realized he was frowning but one look at Eli and his amused expression revealed that he must have been. "Mmhmm, I see what's up. He all up on your girl? That doesn't surprise me. Guy's a real cowboy. And I gotta say, I don't trust a dude with two first names, you know what I mean."

Daryl couldn't help but get caught up in Eli's take on things. He could talk shit, but he was usually right.

"Michonne said the same thing. The cowboy part. What the hell does that even mean?"

"How have you been married to that woman for so long and you don't know?" Daryl shrugged. "Well, it means that he likes the swagger and the attention that comes with being in court and arguing cases. You know, all the ego parts that let him showboat. He likes people knowing he's a winner and aint shy about telling 'em so."

"So pretty much like you, right?"

Eli laughed. "That aint right, Daryl. I thought we were friends." Both men laughed at that, used to the ribbing. "Not saying you're wrong, though," he added and chuckled again.

A moment later, the doors opened and a stream of people began exiting the room, talking a mile a minute to each other. From what he could catch, it was the same ole boring thing he'd sometimes sit through when Michonne was on the phone getting work done from home. Eli waved to a few folks and said hello, but mostly just leaned back to watch people go by.

"I'll see most of these folks at dinner," he pointed out. "Since I'm not skipping out like you guys."

"Yeah, we could bring the whole lot of us. Lord knows the conversation would get the kids right set for bedtime." The kids in question had stopped running around when they saw so many people exit the meeting room. Instead, they sat against the wall and played some other type of game, the rules of which Daryl was damned if he understood.

"Ha, that's the truth." He clapped Daryl on the back. "Not if you stuck with me, though. I know all the right people. Speaking of which, where's your girl?"

Most of the people had trickled out it seemed, but no Michonne and no Andrea for that matter. Daryl wondered what kept them.

"Hey, I'm gon' go check. You mind keepin' an eye on the kids for a sec. It don't look like they'll give you any trouble." In fact, Sydney had gone back to sleep and the other two were still engrossed in their play.

As Eli scrolled through something on his phone, he looked up and nodded. "Yeah, it's cool. I need to return some emails anyway and if I get started talking to Michonne and Andrea I won't ever get to it."

Daryl bent down and told the kids to behave while he went and got their mom. Etta perked up a bit at the mention but then went back to her game with Andre.

When he walked into the room, there were still a good number of people up front milling around and talking. Michonne was at the very front gathering her materials from the morning session as she kept one ear on the conversation going on around her between Andrea, Micah, and the New York guy. Every so often when Michonne would move around to reshuffle her load, the man's eyes would travel to her, taking in her body and settling his eyes a little too long on her backside or her chest.

Daryl made his way to the front of the room and went straight for his wife and the box she was about to pick up.

"I got that," he said grabbing it from her, "since I brought it down and all."

She smirked at him. "It was quite a bit heavier then." Daryl shrugged and placed the light box in his arms.

Looking behind him, she furrowed her brow in confusion. "I thought you said you had Andre? What did you do with our kids, Daryl," she teased quietly at his side.

"Don't worry, they're outside with Eli. Syd's knocked out and you know Etta and Andre are thick as thieves right now. They'll keep for a minute. Wanted to see what was holdin' you up."

They moved closer to the small group that included Andrea and the annoying new guy.

Andrea immediately took Michonne by the arm. "Michonne, as much as I know you miss all this shop talk, you should probably get outta here. We've kept you long enough it seems." She cut her eyes at Daryl, a grin threatening to break through at seeing his impatient entrance a moment before.

Scott Dennis, aka Captain Asshole in Daryl's mind, tried to sidle up to Michonne's other side. "Hey before you leave, you need to give me your contact info. I'd really love to get your thoughts on that argument you mentioned on the constructive indictment amendment. I think I could use it in some of my motions."

Because she had only been half listening and ribbing Andrea, she didn't notice the way Dennis's eyes swept over her as he made the request. But Daryl sure as hell noticed.

"You should actually talk to Micah about that. Or Eli who's also from my office—he'll definitely be at the reception. He's the one who's been litigating it lately. I'm not even officially back to work right now since I'm still on sabbatical."

Dennis licked his lips. "Maybe you could make an introduction then. Or if you've got some time left on your sabbatical, maybe I could ring you up when I'm in Atlanta wrapping up that 11th Circuit appeal I'm working on." Daryl frowned at his pushiness. That's when Dennis finally noticed Daryl lingering at the edge of the group. "Oh Michonne, you didn't have to get the hotel facilities to move your stuff. I'm happy to take that up to your room for you."

Daryl blinked, his mind processing that Dennis had mistook him for one of the hotel workers and not the husband of the woman he was doing a terrible job of hitting on. His hands tightened on the box. He just bet this clown would love a chance to get into Michonne's room. And other things. It wasn't gonna happen on his watch.

He noticed Andrea had to turn her head to hide her laughter at the whole situation, although her shoulders shook with it. Micah, who stood next to Daryl but behind Dennis didn't bother to hide it and clasped Daryl's shoulder, either in sympathy or to hold him back in case Daryl decided to drop the box and kick Dennis's ass.

Dennis didn't seem to notice anyone else's response as he turned back toward Daryl, expecting him to hand over the box. Daryl felt his temper flare again just looking at the guy's stupid, arrogant face.

Michonne, who had pulled her phone out, seemed not to have heard him as she sent whatever email required her urgent attention. On the one hand, Daryl was kind of glad she was basically ignoring this clown. But on the other hand, he really wanted her approval to put Captain Asshole in his place.

Before Daryl could tell the guy off, Michonne stepped in. "Sorry, I just had to respond to something. Were you talking about the 11th Circuit? Then you should definitely talk to Eli. Andrea I'm sure can introduce you at the reception." Daryl took a step forward watching as Dennis forgot about him to focus back on his wife.

"Oh," Dennis said, glancing quickly at Andrea who stared back with a raised eyebrow. "I thought maybe, uh …" He scrunched his face in confusion, which made him look like a total dumbass as far as Daryl was concerned. "You won't be there tonight? I was hoping I could buy you a drink for leading such a good training."

Michonne stowed her phone back in her bag and offered a strained chuckle. "Now a glass of wine would be nice. But today is not that day."

The man perked up again. "Well, like I said, we could always—"

"Come on!" a little voice called from the back of the room. All eyes turned toward his adorable little girl trotting down the aisle to get to her mom, her older brother in tow as she pulled him along.

As they made their way to the front of the room, Scott Dennis backed up. Leaning into Micah he said, "This hotel is getting a little ridiculous if it's just letting kids run wild when people are trying to have a professional conference. Who even brings their kids to these things?" Then he noticed Daryl again still standing off to the side with Michonne's box. "Excuse me, I know you're probably just the manual labor around here, but could you tell the staff that there needs to be better security around here," he said looking at Etta and Andre with veiled disdain. Micah feigned ignorance while his eyes simultaneously twinkled with the knowledge of the wake-up call the man was about to get.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that," Daryl growled and pushed past the man to meet the kids. "Hey slow down there, Speed Racer," he said to Etta and she motored down to a skip.

"Mama, you see my s'prise?" she asked, approaching the group.

As soon as she'd heard Etta's voice, Michonne had tuned out everyone else around her and beamed at the sight of her two oldest children along with her friend pushing the baby a ways behind them. "I do see your surprise. Isn't it the best!" she crooned to the little girl.

"Yes, yes, yes!" She stopped short of the group and grabbed her brother's leg again. "I haven't seen Dre in a million billion hours."

"That long, huh?" Etta nodded and Michonne laughed before strolling over to her son and giving him a dramatic hug and a kiss on the head that he promptly shied away from.

"Mooom. Come on, we're in major public."

"Oh who's gonna see? You got your boys hiding around the corner?"

He smiled at her joke. "No, but what are you always saying about bad habits?"

Michonne scoffed. "Snuggling up with my oldest child is NOT a bad habit. Get over it." She chuckled at his smirk and then lifted Etta up into her arms. Were you a good girl today for Papa?"

"So, so good!" Etta replied.

"Well, she was until she saw this one here," Eli said, approaching with the stroller and pointing to Andre. "And then she lost her mind."

"Did not!" she said, but giggled when Eli sidled over and tickled her side.

Michonne gave him a hug. "Thanks for coordinating, Eli. Obviously, it's appreciated."

"Well, I did owe you one."

"You always owe me one," Michonne laughed.

Meanwhile, Daryl watched with some satisfaction as Captain Asshole's face fell, both at realizing all the kids in the room that he'd practically been about to call the cops on actually belonged to the woman he'd been slobbering over all day. It almost made up for the guy mistaking him for "the help." Almost. It did make him mad, but at the end of the day, he'd get the girl, and he was about to make sure this dude knew that.

Instead, Scott Dennis pulled his expression together and offered a fake smile and a hand to Eli. "It's nice to finally meet you, Eli. I've heard a lot about you. I guess you're kind of the 'me' of Atlanta."

Daryl, who now stood next to Andre, rolled his eyes. This guy was the worst.

Eli wasn't having it either, although he was more good-natured about it than Daryl could muster. "Naw son, more like you're the Yankee version of me."

Andrea laughed. "Oh no, we got two cowboys over here going head to head."

"It's cool, it's cool," Scott said, shaking his head. "Actually, I gotta say you're a lucky guy."

"You bet he is," Michonne said, snuggling into Etta and kissing her neck to make her laugh. The little girl was beside herself to have both her brother and her mom at her disposal again. Michonne looked back over toward the man who'd she been obliviously shooting down. "He's got all of us here helping him out to keep that cowboy reputation up."

"Aint that right," Micah added with Andrea joining in on the heckling. Eli just shrugged and grinned, knowing it was true.

Michonne started walking toward the back of the room, hand on Andre's shoulder and Daryl on her other side with the box. Andrea had taken over stroller duties, cooing over the still sleeping baby.

Dennis stepped in line alongside Micah and Eli, cutting off the conversation Eli had begun about the things he'd missed during the day's session. "No, I meant that you've got a great career and you get the girl," he added gesturing to Michonne in front of him. Eli looked to Micah and then to Dennis in confusion.

Daryl was much less conflicted. He was pissed.

He'd had enough. He wasn't planning on getting in the guy's face, especially in front of his kids, but he wouldn't be disrespected like that—or allow his wife to be disrespected either even if she wasn't paying the man any mind.

"You know man, you might want to back off," he popped off, heat in his voice yet calm enough not to frighten the kids. Michonne eyed him as she toddler-talked with Etta. Daryl simply kept on walking, box in hand.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Dennis said. "I could get you fired you know, talking to a guest like that. Why don't you go back to your utility closet instead of out here slumming up the place?"

Before Daryl could respond, Michonne had whirled around on him. "You talk to your clients like that?" Micah, Andrea, and Eli looked away, not willing to offer the man any assistance against the schooling Michonne was about to give him. She glared at Dennis, her piercing stare expecting an explanation. For someone who was supposed to be such a badass under pressure, it was clear Michonne's challenge had gotten to him.

Etta squirmed in Michonne's arms. "Mama, why's he fussing at Papa?" Her eyes got wide and sad, and it broke his heart to see his little girl so distraught, especially because she couldn't stand to see someone mistreating someone she loved.

Daryl's regret turned to amusement as he watched Dennis's expression, eyes round as saucers as all the pieces clicked together in his mind.

Michonne didn't miss a beat as she rubbed her daughter's back and diverted her attention while she soothed her and smoothed back her light-colored curls. "Oh, he's just being silly, my love." Etta didn't look convinced.

Daryl leaned over from where he stood beside Michonne and rubbed the little girl's cheek as he rested the light box against his hip. "It's okay, pumpkin seed, I'm not sad. But thank you for lookin' out for me." She smiled a little at him, and he flashed her an identical one, which cheered her up right away. He felt Michonne's hand on his cheek as well, and he looked up to meet her eyes. Running her finger over his lips as he grinned, she then ran her hand along his arm and then around his waist to rub his back in a similar fashion.

Some might say he did it because of the man fuming at his back. But when Daryl leaned over to kiss his wife briefly on the lips, it was because she was beautiful and he loved her more than anything in the world, along with his kids. She was his and no cowboy with a mess of dumb pick up lines was going to change that.

"Ugh, you too," Andrea whined behind them, but with a smile on her face.

"I know," Andre added. "Imagine living with them."

A gurgle in the stroller drew all of their attention—it seemed that Andrea's cooing had disturbed the baby and she wasn't happy about it. Daryl and Michonne exchanged a glance, with both of their arms full, they'd have to reconfigure things if they didn't want the situation to devolve into full-blown chaos.

"Hey, I'll grab that box," Eli offered. "This stuff's going back to the office anyway. And I'll take these clowns with me." He gestured to the still stricken Scott Dennis and Micah who had hilarity written all over his face. "I heard that Mr. New York here was asking about constructive amendments to an indictment, which just so happens to be the subject of my latest bit of brilliance."

Both Andrea and Michonne groaned.

Micah piped up as well. "It was nice to have you back for a bit M. We'll get you in the courthouse soon enough." Behind Dennis's back, he patted Daryl on the shoulder again and walked out. Daryl didn't know the man well, but they'd seen each other around enough to know the other. The pat was probably to acknowledge his restraint in not kicking this Dennis guy's ass on the spot.

When Eli took the box from Daryl and passed by Michonne, pushing Dennis along after Micah, Daryl saw her mouth a heartfelt thank you to him. Eli rolled his eyes and responded that now she owed him one.

As the baby's gurgles turned to whimpers, Michonne passed Etta to Daryl and went to see about configuring an impromptu breastfeeding session if it turned out Sydney couldn't wait until they returned to their room. She picked up the infant, happy to be holding her again after a long afternoon, and rocked her a bit to see if that would mollify her. It didn't. So to the boob they went.

"And with this development, I'm out of here. I do not do screaming babies, which is my right and privilege as god-mother. Besides, I have to go get ready for tonight. I'll be sure to report back any antics that your new boyfriend gets into." Pulling Andre in for a hug, she then bounced out of the emptied room as well.

"Very funny, Andrea," Michonne called out as her friend strolled out the door, positioning her shawl she kept for when she had to feed Syd in public. Adjusting her shirt like a pro, she had the baby latched on and happily nursing in no time. Daryl was still holding Etta, although she was now wiggling in a way that indicated she'd want to get down soon.

Andre slapped Daryl on the arm. "You should have punched that dude for looking at Mom like that." Michonne glared at her son, and Daryl decided to tread lightly.

"Aint no point fighting guys like that. Besides. I'm the one that got the girl." He grinned back at his wife in a way that he knew she found irresistible. Sure enough, her glare turned into a smirk as she laughed at his attempt to charm her. "Anyway, it's lucky y'all came in just in time to distract us."

Michonne scoffed. "Not much luck to it. Etta honey, could you stop running around your brother and look in my purse for my phone?" The little girl complied, digging happily in her mom's purse to complete her mission. He had no idea why kids liked poking around in women's purses so much. Probably because gals like Michonne kept so much damn stuff in them.

When Etta handed the phone to her mom, she unlocked it and pulled up a text message to show to him. It was from her to Eli.

" _Pls bring kids to rescue us before my man beats the shit out of his fool from NYC. Or I do."_

Daryl read the text a couple of times, before bursting out in laughter. That must have been the message she'd been sending during his exchange with Captain Asshole. When he looked up, Michonne's matching grin was one of satisfaction. So she hadn't been as oblivious as he'd thought.

This time, it was she that ignored their hyper kids and the baby at her chest to reach over and plant a short but sensual kiss to his lips.

"No contest, Dixon."

"Damn straight," he replied and flicked at the necklace around her neck that held, amongst other pendants, her wedding band. "Told ya you need to put your ring back on."

She sighed. "Hey, you don't even wear yours at work so quit getting on my case. And I will as soon as I get it resized to fit my permanently fat fingers." Daryl reached for her hand and kissed said fingers, humoring her on such comments, although he remembered her sourness at him for laughing when she, yet again, couldn't easily slide it on a couple weeks ago.

"Stop kissin' and let's go play!" Etta said, pulling on her father's pant leg.

Laughing, Michonne ruffled his hair and went back to nursing Sydney. Daryl took over the stroller and let Etta take a turn at helping him push it down the hallway as Andre walked beside his mom as if her personal security guard. He loved that the little guy made it a point to take care of both his sisters and his mom. He laughed as Michonne explained to Etta that her second prize was that they would be going to Chuck-E-Cheese for dinner and then to get ice cream. Daryl enjoyed the experience of his daughter so happy and excited to be having fun with her family.

His family. His and Michonne's. Right now, he felt like the luckiest bastard on the planet.

 _Fini_


End file.
